Scribbles on Theorizing the Personal in Feminism and Women’s Research

Abstract

The terms "personal" and "political," like "private" and "public," are undergoing important changes in the current era, where Carol Hanisch's famous dictum "the personal is political" still serves as a persuasive justification for more recent uses of primary evidences in research and autobiography studies. Second wave feminism has clearly benefited from the awareness that ‘the personal is political,’ which influenced the growth of social analyses and theories, sparked fresh activities, and expanded the range of topics that could be categorized as ‘feminist issues.’ We have a strong aversion to the notion of subjectivity even in the context of subjective writing projects and are aware of the impersonal, distant tone employed and encouraged in academic works. The article questions why certain personal/subjective information is valued as knowledge or truth while some other information is downplayed or dismissed as anecdotal or just as personal experience, and it proceeds to examine feminist research and interventions in the area.